The Little Princess and The Wicked Witch

Karrie McD

My oldest baby girl is the princess and I am the wicked witch with the camera. :wink I may be comparing apples and oranges here because the subjects are so different but... I am doing a maternity shoot for a friend soon, it will be my first. I only have an EX 580 II and a window so I thought to see what the lighting would look like I had my princess stand next to a north window and I snapped away. I am not concerned with composition C & C here, just lighting C & C. Am I doing it right or am I missing something that would be helpful for when I shoot my big belly friend Thank you.

After thought; of course I am also just showing off my beatiful daughter but I think my main question is, after looking at these as she moves around the room or changes the direction of her head does it matter where your subject stands or which direction they face when all you have is the window and flash?


1.




2. I can see the light from the window really good on her face here, is it too much?



3. Here she is facing away from the window, does it still look ok or not enough light?


4. This is not in front of the window but pretty close, hows the lighting when in a different area from the window?


5. Are we done yet mom??

kyeezie

I am no ligh pro by any means, I just want to give you my personal opinion. As far as it goes, i like the last picture the best. I can see her eyes and facial fetures better. The other pictures seems to have shadows that cover her very cute little face.

Cantfeelmyfingers

I wouldn't say your lighting is all that bad.. Perhaps invest in (if you don't already have) a reflector. It'll act as another light source without the price tag!

darkdragon

Cantfeelmyfingers wrote:

I wouldn't say your lighting is all that bad.. Perhaps invest in (if you don't already have) a reflector. It'll act as another light source without the price tag!

I have to agree 100% on this. If you put the reflector directly accross from the window it will really even out your lighting.

If you can't invest in a reflector right now (or can't wait for one to be shipped from an online retailer), just go to a craft store or art store and grab a shiny white or metalic gold foam-core/project board.

Karrie McD

Thank you!
Okay, finding the right light reflector research has commenced Thank you all for the comments.

Paulcao

Reflectors are overpriced in walk-in stores imo. Buy online if you can....I've found them to be near half as much as in stores. Anyways, the last one is a keeper regardless. The expression on her face is great.

Scott_Quier

Karrie,

These are very good!! Love the light (and expression) in the last one!

Some tips:

• You have at least three light sources available to you: (1) window, (2) flash, and (3) a reflector. The flash, as you have done here, works well to put a catchlight in the eyes.
• For a white reflector - white foam core board is cheap and very effective. You can find it in places like Ben Franklin stores.
• Silver reflector - a windshield sun screen at a automotive store will work.

One difference between the white and silver reflectors will be the amount of light bounced. There is also the potential for the silvered reflector to cool the light a bit.

does it matter where your subject stands or which direction they face when all you have is the window and flash?

Sure it matters. The extent to which your subject faces toward or away from the main light will impact the appearance of the shadows.

For the maternity shoot, consider putting your lady between you and the window, either in profile or angled. Then blow the light from the window just a bit and fill the shadow side a bit - you could get some really cool lighting effects.

Or, put her between you and the window with a blank wall as a background. This would get you a nice dark background, some interesting almost rim light on your lady for some cool light/shadow effects. Season with either reflector or flash to taste.

urbanaries

These are adorable!! Man, those eyes are big and beautiful!!!

In terms of preparing for maternity shots, my biggest suggestion would be to work on the backdrop. IMO it is the most distracting part of these photos. For maternity, you have the luxury of a model that can stand pretty still (in comparison to children) so get the camera on a tripod, and maybe use that flash off camera (with an off shoe cord, for cheap starters) to illuminate the background. Here is a good example of how awesome a slightly overexposed white background can look!

Echo Scott's advice to get the subject to stand in the window. You can use a white foam core reflector (or a mirror!) to reflect light back on her. Experiment with exposing for the background (the window light), which will throw the subject in silhouette/shadow; or exposing for the subject, which will throw the background into a nice overexposed, illuminating effect.

All of these do seem to be underexposed, btw. The LCD on your camera is not reliable way to check exposure, the LCD in my experience LIES, especially when it comes to brightness. Check your histogram while shooting instead.....and holler if you need help with that!

Scott_Quier

urbanaries wrote:

The LCD on your camera is not reliable way to check exposure, the LCD in my experience LIES, especially when it comes to brightness. Check your histogram while shooting instead.....and holler if you need help with that!

Hmmm ... seems I've heard that somewhere before!

urbanaries

Scott_Quier wrote:

Hmmm ... seems I've heard that somewhere before!

I almost attributed you.......:D